Lyla Lindsey
On March 12, 1938, German troops marched into Austria to annex the German-speaking nation for the Third Reich. This event is known as the Anschluss. The Anschluss was the first act of territorial aggression and expansion by Nazi Germany, and it was widely popular in both Germany and Austria.
The idea of a united Austria and Germany was not new and had been discussed since the 19th century. After World War I, the Republic of German-Austria attempted to form a union with Germany, but the Treaty of Versailles and the Treaty of Saint Germain forbade both the union and the continued use of the name German-Austria.
In the 1920s, many Austrians believed that their country could not survive economically without the lands previously held by Austria-Hungary. Some wanted to restore the empire, while others wanted to unite with Germany. The latter view was supported by Austrian Nazi leader Adolf Hitler, who was born in Austria and became Chancellor of Germany in 1933.
Hitler fully intended to bring about an Austro-German union and began planning for territorial expansion almost as soon as he took power. In 1938, he pressured Austrian Chancellor Kurt Schuschnigg to resign and appoint Austrian Nazi Arthur Seyss-Inquart as the new chancellor. Hitler then sent German troops into Austria, and they were met with enthusiasm by the Austrian population.
The annexation of Austria transformed the country almost overnight. Austrian and German Nazis carried out the Nazification of Austrian life, and Austrians participated in the mass murder of Europe's Jews and fought in World War II. The Anschluss was a significant breach of the post-World War I international order, and it was the first step in Hitler's takeover of Europe.
What You'll Learn
Hitler's role in the Anschluss
In 1934, Hitler ordered the Austrian Nazis to wreak havoc in Austria, which turned into an attempt to overthrow the government. Although the coup failed, it resulted in the assassination of Austrian Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss. Hitler's rise to power in Germany in 1933 meant that the desire for unification could be identified with the Nazis, for whom it was an integral part of the "Heim ins Reich" concept.
In 1936, Hitler and Austrian Chancellor Kurt Schuschnigg signed the German-Austrian Agreement, which recognised Austrian independence but required its foreign policy to align with Germany's. Hitler's true intentions became clear when he demanded that Nazis be given key government posts in Austria. In 1938, Hitler invited Schuschnigg to his summer retreat and forced him to agree to give the Austrian Nazis virtually a free hand. When Schuschnigg tried to preserve Austrian independence by announcing a referendum, Hitler threatened an invasion and pressured Schuschnigg to resign.
Hitler ordered Austrian Nazis to create chaos and pressure Schuschnigg. On March 11, 1938, Hitler sent Schuschnigg an ultimatum, demanding that he hand over all power to the Austrian Nazis. Without waiting for an answer, Hitler ordered German troops to invade Austria. On March 12, German troops marched into Austria unopposed, and Hitler accompanied them. A month later, a rigged referendum showed that 99.7% of Austrians approved of German control.
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The Austrian Nazi Party's attempted coup in 1934
The Austrian Civil War, which took place from February 12-15, 1934, set the stage for the attempted coup by the Austrian Nazi Party later that year. The civil war was a series of clashes between the forces of Engelbert Dollfuss's right-wing government and the Republican Protection League, the paramilitary arm of the Social Democratic Workers' Party of Austria. The conflict ended with the defeat of the socialists, the banning of the Social Democratic Party, and the establishment of an Austrofascist constitution with the Fatherland Front as the only legal party.
Engelbert Dollfuss, the Christian Social chancellor, had previously suspended the Austrian Parliament in March 1933, allowing his government to rule by decree. He also began to suppress civil liberties and imprison members of the Social Democratic Party. In the wake of the civil war, Dollfuss, the Fatherland Front, and the Heimwehr set about destroying the remnants of the Social Democratic and Marxist-oriented workers' movement.
On July 25, 1934, Austrian Nazis and German SS soldiers attacked the Chancellery in Vienna in an attempt to depose the ruling Fatherland Front government under Dollfuss and replace it with a pro-Nazi government under Anton Rintelen of the Christian Social Party. The putschists managed to kill Dollfuss, but the majority of the Austrian population and army remained loyal to the government, and the coup was ultimately defeated.
The putschists' plan was for SS personnel to force their way into the Chancellor's office, while another group occupied the building of the Austrian National Radio and forced a statement that the Government of Dollfuss had fallen and Rintelen was the new head of government. This false report was intended to start a Nazi uprising throughout the country. There was considerable fighting in parts of Carinthia, Styria, and Upper Austria, and limited resistance in Salzburg.
The coup was finally crushed by the police, military, and paramilitary units loyal to the government, with over 200 people killed in six days of fighting. Kurt Schuschnigg became the new Chancellor, and Ernst Rüdiger Starhemberg remained as Vice-Chancellor.
The failed coup had significant international repercussions. A German invasion of Austria in support of the putsch was averted due to the guarantee of independence and diplomatic support that Austria received from Fascist Italy. Mussolini was outraged by the coup attempt and assassination of Dollfuss, with whom he was friends and allies, and he moved troops to the Austrian border, telling Hitler that he was not to invade. This made Hitler proclaim that he did not support the coup, which ultimately led to its failure.
The attempted coup was a significant event in the lead-up to World War II, as it demonstrated the aggressive territorial ambitions of Nazi Germany and the failure of the British and French to take action against Hitler's violations of international treaties.
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The Austrian Civil War
The conflict began when members of the Republican Protection League fired on Austrian police who were attempting to enter the Social Democrats' party headquarters in Linz to search for weapons. The fighting quickly spread to Vienna and other industrial centres in eastern and central Austria. The Austrian police and Federal Army, who had superior numbers and firepower, quickly suppressed the uprising. The overall death toll is estimated at 350, with around 1,000 members of the Protection League killed in Vienna alone.
The socialists' defeat led to arrests, executions, and the banning of the Social Democratic Party. In May 1934, Austria's democratic constitution was replaced by an Austrofascist constitution, with the Fatherland Front as the only legal party. This marked the end of the First Austrian Republic and the beginning of an authoritarian regime.
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The Soviet occupation of Austria
On the 12th of March, 1938, German troops marched into Austria to annex the German-speaking nation for the Third Reich. This was known as the Anschluss, which means "joining" or "connection" in German. The annexation was supported by most of the Austrian population, with many Austrians participating in the Nazi administration and fighting for the Nazi German armed forces.
After World War II, the Allies agreed in the Declaration of Moscow that Austria would be regarded as the first victim of Nazi aggression and treated as a liberated and independent country. The country was divided into four occupation zones: the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, the United States, and France each controlled a zone.
The Soviet Union deployed NKVD (secret police) teams to extract reparations through requisitions, seizing industrial plants, and confiscating goods. The occupation was costly for Austria, with the country paying the Soviet Union an estimated 36.8 billion Schillings, or two percent of its accumulated GDP, from 1946 to 1955.
During the Soviet occupation, there were also reports of sexual assaults and looting by Soviet soldiers. The anti-German hate propaganda used during the war, combined with the soldiers' desire to exact revenge, contributed to these crimes. However, the Soviet leadership did attempt to discourage criminal conduct and differentiate ordinary Germans and Austrians from the Nazis.
The number of Soviet troops in Austria decreased over time, and the occupation ended in 1955 with the Austrian State Treaty, which granted Austria full independence in exchange for pledges of neutrality in the Cold War.
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The Austrian resistance
The main cipher of the Austrian resistance was O5, in which "O" indicates the first letter of the abbreviation of Österreich (OE), with the "5" indicating the fifth letter of the German alphabet (E). This sign may be seen at the Stephansdom in Vienna.
In addition to armed resistance, numerous individuals provided support to Jewish families during the Holocaust. These efforts included hiding individuals, managing or exchanging their property to generate funds, and aiding their escape from Nazi persecution. These actions carried immense personal risk, as assisting Jews was punishable by imprisonment or death in Nazi concentration camps. Among these individuals were Rosa Stallbaumer and her husband, Anton. Arrested by the Gestapo in 1942, they were sent to Dachau concentration camp. Although Anton survived, Rosa Stallbaumer did not; she was transferred to Auschwitz, where she died at the age of 44.
Another notable resistance group was the Austrian Freedom Front, a partisan group led by the Communist leader Franz Honner and supported by the USSR. By the end of the war, the Austrian Freedom Front had become the only armed movement in Austria.
Military resistance was limited to occasional sabotage of both key civil and military installations, with most resisting by avoiding postings to the active war fronts. Most armed resistance was undertaken in Carinthia, where Carinthian Slovenes formed a nucleus to the resistance after targeted deportations and forced Germanisation by the Nazi regime in 1942.
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Frequently asked questions
Yes, Hitler started World War II in Austria. On March 12, 1938, German troops marched into Austria to annex the German-speaking nation for the Third Reich.
Hitler accompanied German troops into Austria, where enthusiastic crowds met them. He appointed a new Nazi government, and on March 13, the annexation was proclaimed.
France and Great Britain protested against Hitler's methods but accepted the annexation as a fait accompli. The United States followed a policy of appeasement, and the Soviet Union demanded that the West should stop further German aggression. The government of Mexico was the only government to formally protest the annexation.
Austria was completely absorbed into Germany, and any official memory of Austrian existence was destroyed and suppressed. Austria was renamed Ostmark (Eastern March), and Upper and Lower Austria became Upper and Lower Danube. Immediately after the invasion, the Nazis arrested many leaders of the anti-Nazi Austrian political parties and a great number of political opponents, particularly communists and socialists. Many Austrians, especially those of Jewish origin, were forced into exile.
